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Passengers are being warned to stay away from Gatwick Airport this morning as it remains closed because of a pair of drones.

They were spotted flying close to one of the runways, leading to a decision to stop flights in and out of the airport. Many passengers are stranded on planes on the tarmac while others are in the airport.

This morning police ruled out suggestions that it could be a terror attack, however they described it as a ‘deliberate act’.

Gatwick Airport suspended flights at 9pm last night and reopened for 45 minutes before it was shut again. At 11.45am they confirmed that flights remain suspended and are urging people not to travel to the airport.

There are long queues at check-in as a result of the problems on the runway (Picture: PA)

The problems will last throughout today and possibly into tomorrow (Picture: PA)

Police and airport staff are monitoring drones that were flying near the runway (Picture: LNP)

Chris Woodroofe, Gatwick’s chief operating officer, said drones had been spotted over the airport as late as 7am on Thursday.

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He blasted the ‘irresponsible’ act, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that 10,000 people had been affected by the closure, including 2,000 whose flights had been unable to take off.

He said two drones had been seen flying ‘over the perimeter fence and into where the runway operates from’.

Mr Woodroofe added that 20 police units from two forces were hunting for the pilot, saying: ‘The police are looking for the operator and that is the way to disable the drone.

‘We also have the helicopter up in the air but the police advice is that it would be dangerous to seek to shoot the drone down because of what may happen to the stray bullets.’

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Dozens of flights were delayed, cancelled or diverted (Picture: PA)

Passengers were equally frustrated with what was going on (Picture: John Belo)

EasyJet is advising passengers not to travel to airports if their flight has been cancelled.

A spokeswoman for the airline said: ‘Like other airlines, easyJet diverted a number of flights due to land at London Gatwick to other airports across the UK.

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‘As a result of this, aircraft and crew remain out of position at airports away from London Gatwick, which has resulted in a number of cancellations this morning.

‘We advise all customers flying to and from London Gatwick today to not travel to the airport if they are on flights which have been cancelled.

‘EasyJet has offered affected passengers who were diverted last night ground transportation to reach London Gatwick and hotel accommodation was provided for those who required it.

‘Passengers who arranged their own transportation will be reimbursed by easyJet. Customers on cancelled flights will be entitled to a free of charge transfer to an alternative flight.’

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James Bailey submitted this picture from an airport in Paris where several other EasyJet planes were held (Picture: James Bailey)

Many travellers don’t know when they’ll be able to get home (Picture: James Bailey)

The pilot of an A320 looked bored as he waited for the runways to reopen (Picture: txarlylm/instagram)

Lyndsey Clarke, from Southend, said she was stuck on a plane for more than four hours after it was rerouted to Stansted.

The 27-year-old said passengers were having to get taxis back to Gatwick after they were finally allowed off the aircraft.

Luke McComiskie’s plane ended up in Manchester, and he described chaotic scenes as people tried to find their way home after more than three hours stuck onboard.

The 20-year-old from Aldershot said: ‘We got told there would be some arrangements with coaches for us when we get out the terminal… it was just chaos and they had only two coaches and taxis charging people £600 to get to Gatwick.’

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Joe Bond’s flight from Belfast was diverted to Birmingham, and he joked on Twitter: ‘From the sound of the stewards we might be staying here forever.’

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The drones were spotted again at 7am. Police are continuing to monitor them (Picture: PA)

Luke Mccomiskie’s picture shows the scene inside a plane three hours after it landed at Manchester having been diverted from Gatwick Airport (Picture: PA)

He added: ‘Update. Got a free can of Coke and Pringles. Which has made the delay better.’

Passengers faced severe disruption as some flights were unable to leave the tarmac while others were diverted to other airports.

Some people reported being left stuck on planes for several hours while they waited to find out what was going on.

Gatwick advised anyone flying from the airport, or collecting someone, to check the status of their flight.

A spokeswoman added that airlines were working to provide hotel accommodation or transport for those whose flights were diverted.

Aviation website airlive.net said inbound flights were diverted to a range of UK airports as well as Amsterdam and Paris.

The view from inside the plane – Dan Bladen who took this picture praised easyJet staff for keeping passengers updated (Picture: Dan Bladen)

Inside the airport passengers were kept waiting while police tried to track down the drones (Picture: Charlotte Headon)

Flights in and out of the airport were closed several times (Picture: Eddie Mitchell)

Flights in and out of the airport were suspended at about 9pm on Wednesday after two drones were sighted near the airfield (Picture: Eddie Mitchell)